Reign of Love
by gointhruchanges20
Summary: "But I have no doubt, one day, we are gonna get out." Two people with less than perfect pasts learn that love can reign even in the darkest of times.
1. I Just Haven

**Hi! So in case you haven't noticed, I'm starting a new story! There's a much longer A/N at the bottom that will answer questions about a previous story I wrote and how I envisioned my characters for this story.**

**As custom, Stephenie Meyer owns _Twilight_, but at least she lets us play with her characters for fun :-)  
**

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Ch.1-I Just Haven't Met You Yet

_Ugh, there are too many people in this damn house,_ she thought to herself as she tried to move through the sea of sweaty teenagers. Bella Swan was never one for crowds, but she loved her friends enough to try and enjoy herself. Her best friends Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale were the queen bees of Forks High School; however, the students flocked to them because they were as kind as they were beautiful. Not to say they wouldn't put someone in their place if they stepped out of line. Their boyfriends, Jasper Whitlock and Emmett McCarty had been friends practically since birth and couldn't be more different; Emmett was a 6 foot 3 muscle-bound jock, while Jasper was just south of 6 feet and loved music more than anything, besides Alice of course. Both boys did have curly blond hair and blue eyes; they were also fiercely protective of their girls.

_Bella had met the gang one summer at a carnival in Port Angeles when the girls were 12 and the boys had just turned 13. She was visiting her father and one of the rare sunny summers in Forks, Washington had prompted Charlie Swan to take a day off and spend it with his daughter. Bella was happily munching on cotton candy when a flash of blond and black hair came into her line of vision. The girl with black hair spoke up first:_

"_Hi, I'm Alice Brandon and we're gonna be the best of friends."_

"_Hi, I'm Rosalie Hale. Sorry about her, I shouldn't have let her have cotton candy," the blonde girl said as Alice stuck out her tongue._

"_My name is Bella Swan. It's nice to meet you both," she said as she held out her hand in greeting to the both of the girls._

_As the years passed, gone were the little girls with flowing blond curls and a short black bob- Alice lightened her hair to a warm brown color, added blond highlights and had it styled like Amy Winehouse, while Rosalie dyed her hair to a deep brown color and left it in loose waves instead of the pin tight curls of her childhood._

"Ali! Rose!" Bella shouted over the thumping bass of hip hop music. _Seriously?_ she thought, _This is Forks; we're too boring of a town to be "gangsta"! _

"Bells!" she heard a familiar voice call, but she couldn't see her. "Crowley, get your hands off my ass," Rosalie said as she smacked him upside the head. "Bella!" Rosalie called again as she noticed Bella's outstretched hand and grabbed it so Bella could pull her out of the crowd.

"Thanks for the assist," Rosalie said after she let out a breath. "Now, where's Alice?"

"I have no idea! I've been looking for her everywhere!" Bella exclaimed.

"ALICE!" both girls yelled. "OVER HERE!" they heard a reply and watched a bejeweled arm wave in the air. Bella and Rosalie linked arms to make their way through the crowd again to find their friend. "Al, try to grab our hands," Bella said as she and Rose held out their free hands to pull Alice through. After she was free of the swarm, Alice directed her friends to one of the few open places in the house.

"This party is getting way out of control!" Alice breathed out. "I agree; you ready to head out Bella?" Rosalie asked. Bella looked at her friends and thought of what her police chief father would say if he saw them out. "I'm definitely ready, but you both need to look for your boys so we can all get out of here," Bella explained. "You mean we have to go through _that_ again?" Rosalie complained as she pointed to the mass of hormones. "Well they won't hear their phones in all this," Alice reasoned. "Come on, we'll use the buddy system."

"I'll wait for you guys in the backyard, okay?" Bella asked. "Yeah, if we survive this mob!" Rosalie answered back as she and Alice made their way back in. Bella weaved her way through the few people congregating around the back door and made her way outside. She was thankful it hadn't cooled off enough that she needed her hoodie in Alice's car, but the air felt good on her overheated skin. Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath; it was only when she opened her eyes again did she notice that she wasn't alone.

"Oh!" Bella gasped in surprise. "I'm sorry, I thought I was the only one out here." The figure sitting on the swing set turned their head towards Bella and that was when she realized it was a boy, and a very beautiful boy at that. From what she could make out from where she stood near the house he had brown hair, a strong jawline, and beautiful long fingers wrapped around the chains of the swing. She could also tell even while sitting he would be very tall and he was wearing a dark t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

While she appraised him from where she stood, her mysterious stranger also took his time to gaze at her: she was slender with long, dark hair and from what he could make out a heart shaped face. She wasn't wearing skimpy, low cut clothes like the rest of the girls at that party-instead she wore a simple black vest with a white t-shirt, jean capris and converse sneakers. In his eyes she was beautiful.

"No, it's fine. Actually I wouldn't mind the company," he said. Bella was wary at first considering she didn't know this boy-man really- but she couldn't find it in herself to be nervous and went to sit by her stranger. The two sat quietly for a moment and Bella began to look up at the stars. Growing up in the hustle and bustle of Phoenix, seeing the stars was a rare occurrence due to the lights of the city. While see looked at the stars, her stranger looked at her. Now that he had a better view of her, he noticed that her hair was as dark as the current sky, her skin was even paler up close, she had a pretty bow shaped mouth-the bottom lip a bit fuller than the top, an almost button-like nose, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of brown.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," the stranger said. Bella looked in his direction then and took her turn at appraisal: full, pouty lips she could happily kiss for hours, a perfectly angular nose, and the most intense bluish-green eyes she had ever seen. "Probably not. I just moved back here a few days ago," Bella answered. "So you're Isabella Swan I take it?" the stranger asked. "How long did it take for people to start buzzing about the prodigal daughter?" Bella asked with a smirk.

"Maybe about fifteen minutes after you and the Chief crossed the county line," the stranger smirked back. "Figures. Nothing in this town stays secret for long," Bella said as she rolled her eyes. "So you know my name; do I get the privilege of knowing yours?

Just as her stranger was about to tell her, both whipped their heads in the direction of the slamming screen door as a drunken Tyler Crowley called out into the darkness. "CUL-LEN! Stanley's looking for you and threatened serious physical harm if she can't find yooouuu!"

After his drunken declaration and a shrug of his shoulders, Tyler went back into the house and the two began to laugh hysterically. Once Bella was able to calm her breathing back down, she turned back to her stranger and said "So, it must be safe for me to assume that you're Edward Cullen?"

"Guilty as charged. You sort of knew didn't you?" Edward asked. "I couldn't be sure; I hadn't met you yet," Bella said with a small shrug and a smile. "Fair enough," Edward responded with a similar smile and a nod of his head.

"There you are!" Emmett bellowed in Bella's direction causing her and Edward to look his way as Rose, Alice, and Jasper came out the house behind him. "How's it hangin', Ed?" Emmett asked. "Pretty good, Em," Edward responded. "Basically, we're all agreed this party's gotten a little too crazy and Emmett's tapeworm is complaining, so we're headin' to the diner to grab a bite before they close up shop for the night. You want in, Bella?" Jasper asked. "Yeah, sure," Bella replied before turning back to Edward. "Would you like to come with us, Edward?"

"I don't think I was really invited," Edward mentioned. "Don't be silly, Bella just invited you," Rosalie retorted. Alice nodded her head in agreement and said "Yeah, it should be fun. Come with us." "Okay, I'll follow you guys there," Edward answered Alice while looking at Bella.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay, you're both pretty! Now come on, I'm starving!" Emmett exclaimed. The group shared a laugh and Edward and Bella got off the swings to follow them.

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**Okay, so 1st thing's first:**

**If you were reading my story _The Other Side,_ sorry )-: I took it down because truthfully, I lost inspiration and there are a lot of great Cullens in high school/ transformation stories out there.  
**

**Next, in case you noticed my characters have a bit of physical changes about them: I know how they are suppose to look according to canon, but if you're like me you sometime picture the actors that play them in the film while you read the story, so here is the basic breakdown-I wanted my Alice to look like Ashley Greene's character from _LOL (_google her to get a better visual) (and that also means she will be at her actual height in my story as well); Rosalie and Emmett are supposed to look more like Nikki Reed and Kellan Lutz (They're both meant to have their natural hair color to me); Jasper's look is still the same because to me Jackson Rathbone is sexy with brown or blond hair (Congratulations on your baby boy if you so happen to be reading this-I kinda doubt it though); Since my Alice and Rose both are brunettes, my Bella has black hair (if you're like me and see Kristen as your Bella, put your mindset for her SWATH look); Finally, my Edward is staying the same because, seriously, why mess with perfection?  
**

**Finally, if you read through this massive A/N-you're awesome and I totally appreciate it!  
**

**Hope you enjoy reading and please review!  
**


	2. Friends

**Sorry, for the delay. I was hoping to have this posted last week, but things have been crazy these past couple weeks. Hopefully, I can keep a weekly schedule for Saturdays.**

**As usual, _Twilight_ is Stephenie Meyer's/ I just own the soundtracks and DVDs.  
**

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Ch. 2- Friends

As Alice followed behind Jasper's Firebird, she and Rose began their interrogation.

"So do you think he's cute?"

"What did you guys talk about?"

"Did he ask you out?"

"Did he kiss you?"

"Whoa! Slow down you two, before you have mutual aneurisms," Bella said. "Yes, I do think he's cute; we didn't really talk about much, so no he didn't ask me out; and I just met him, why would I kiss him?"

"Because you think he's cute," Rosalie drawled before she and Alice burst into laughter.

"You two are so mature," Bella said as she shook her head.

"Rag on our maturity as much as you want, just as long as you admit that you think Edward is cute," Alice said with a smile as she pulled into a parking spot.

"Guys, not to sound like a pain in the ass or anything, but why does it matter to you if I think Edward is cute?" Bella asked.

"Well, considering what you told us happened back in Phoenix, we thought it may lift your spirits if you had a little bit of innocent fun," Rose said sadly.

Bella realized that her friends were referring to the "incident" with Phil, but she had changed a bit of the story to avoid any looks of pity. _Why be pitied for something that's my fault? _Bella thought sadly.

"It's sweet what you two are trying to do, but if something happens between me and Edward, just let it happen naturally," Bella said with a small smile.

"Okay, it's just hard to do because we wanna see you happy," Alice said. "We'd better go; the boys are waiting."

The girls exited the car just as Edward pulled into a spot next to Jasper. The group went into the diner when Bella was stopped by a familiar voice.

"I was wondering when I would see you kid," Billy Black said while wiping his hands on a dish cloth. "Hey Billy! How have you been?" Bella asked as her father's oldest friend pulled her in a tight embrace.

"You'd know if you would have come down by the rez," Billy joked. "In all fairness, I did just get back into town about three days ago," Bella claimed. "Sure, sure. I'll let that excuse go for now," Billy shot back.

The gang laughed behind them and Billy greeted them all. "How you doin' tonight, kids?"

"We're good, Billy. We're good," Jasper said. "Alright, you kids grab a seat and I'll get you set up in a second," Billy said.

"Thanks, Billy," the gang answered and went to take a seat in one of the booths. The couples sat next to each other leaving Bella and Edward's only option next to each other.

After they all settled into their seats, Jake, Billy's son, came to take their order. "How's it goin' tonight, guys?"

The group all murmured their greetings and Jake took a moment to look at the raven haired girl next to Edward. "Bella?" Jake asked. "I almost didn't recognize you with such dark hair!"

"I could say the same thing, Jacob. Your hair was a bit shorter and you were a bit scrawnier the last time I saw you," Bella retorted.

"I'm just fillin' out, Bells," Jake responded with a smile. "Well, we shut down the grill for the night, so all I can offer you guys is some of the dessert Sue Clearwater brought in earlier today. Is that cool?"

"That depends-is there any more of her berry cobbler left?" Rosalie asked. "Or any of her apple pie?" Jasper requested.

"Hmm, there may be enough for you guys," Jake said with a semi-serious thoughtful look on his face. "I'll just have to see what I can scrape up; so, who wants what?"

"Pie for me!" Jasper and Emmett called out at the same time. "I'll take the cobbler, Jake," Rose answered calmly. "Me too," Bella responded.

"I've actually never tasted the cobbler; how is it?" Edward asked.

"Wait, you've lived here a whole year and you haven't. Tried. The. Cobbler?" Rosalie asked horrified.

"See, now you have to order some based on the principle of the thing," Bella retorted.

"Alright, alright. I'll try some of the cobbler too, Jake," Edward said. "I'll have some pie to even things out," Alice said with a giggle.

"Okay, I'll be right out with your stuff guys," Jake said sauntering to the kitchen. As Jake went to get their desserts, the second part of the inquisition began.

"Dude, I gotta know. Why was Stanley's drunken ass looking for you at the party?" Emmett asked.

"I warned you about being around Jessica; she's more trouble than she's worth, Edward," Rosalie added with a grimace.

"I got it, Rose; just let me deal with the consequences of my dumb mistakes," Edward said slightly annoyed.

"I was having a nice time tonight; can we please not ruin it with anymore talk of Jessica Slutley?" Jasper begged.

"Agreed," Alice and Bella responded, much to Edward's surprise.

"Alright folks, here is three servings of the apple pie and three servings of the cobbler, all warmed up and served a la mode," Jake said as he distributed the desserts. "If you need anything else, just give me or my dad a shout."

"Thanks, Jake," the group called out in unison. Before they dove into their desserts, Emmett stopped them all with raised hands.

"Hold up people; we can't have Eddie here try the cobbler for the first time and not have it documented," Emmett declared. "Ladies and Jazz, please take out your cell phones so we may remember this occasion."

As the group whipped out their phones, Edward shook his head and laughed. "Two things, guys; one: I hate being called "Eddie" and two: you guys are ridiculous," he said as he took a bite of his dessert.

"Okay, you guys were right; this cobbler is crazy good," Edward confirmed as the group laughed and took pictures or finished recording. Afterward, they all fell into easy conversation about the party and the upcoming school year.

"I wonder how the new remodel went; hopefully, the school stopped smelling like a funeral home," Alice said with a shake of her head.

"Well, on the field, Crowley has awesome hand-eye; off, not so much," Emmett agreed.

"Guys, I hate to be a downer, but it's getting late. Charlie is probably waiting up for me," Bella said after glancing at her phone.

"True; an angry chief is not fun for any of us," Edward concurred. "We better head out."

"Wait, is it after 12?" Rose asked "Yep, 12:10 actually," Jasper answered.

"I've only got twenty minutes to get us all home," Alice said with a grimace.

"I can take Bella home," Edward volunteered. "Really? You don't mind?" Bella asked sincerely. "Seriously, it's no problem; I live like right down the road from you guys," Edward affirmed.

"Edward, I owe you big; let's go take care of the bill fast," Alice breathed out.

"No charge! You kids have a good night!" Billy hollered from the kitchen. "You sure, Billy?" Emmett questioned "Get out of here before I change my mind!" Billy retorted. "Thanks, Billy!" the group called out before heading out the door.

"See you soon, guys!" Jake said as he went back to their table. "Bye, Jake!"

Alice and Rose gave their mutual kisses to their respective boyfriends and promised to call Bella in the morning.

"So just to be clear: you really don't mind giving me a ride home?" Bella asked Edward one more time.

"Get in the car, Swan," Edward responded opening her door for her. After the two were settled in the car, they pulled out of the parking lot and began their trip home.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter; we'll see what happens with these two crazy kids next...**

**Please review and see you next week!**


	3. I Started Looking for Excuses

I won't even begin to tell you all the reasons I epically failed to upload chapters. And I finished this one in an hour! (See, no excuses right?)

Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. It's short, but there are some important things in there too!

**Twilight** is Stephenie Meyer's; This story is mine-but you all knew that right?

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Ch. 3-I Started Looking for Excuses

As Edward's Volvo traveled down the road, Bella looked at the trees passing by nervously.

"You're kind of quiet over there; are you okay?" Edward asked a slightly paler Bella.

"Yeah, I will be if you slow down a bit; Police Chief's daughter, remember?" Bella replied, slightly glancing in Edward's direction.

"Damn, sorry about that; my dad always warns me about my lead foot," Edward responded as he eased his foot off the gas pedal. "Better?"

"Much better, thanks," Bella retorted as she finally took a peek at the speedometer and noticed it has dropped immensely. "So is it safe to assume your dad worries about your lead foot because he's a doctor or because he holds a high regard for the law enforcement of the fine town of Forks?"

"It's a little bit of both actually," Edward said with a laugh. "My dad respects the fact that your dad truly holds people accountable and keeps most of the teen population of Forks out of his emergency room. I may or may not be up to my eyeballs in chores too for a couple of speeding tickets my dad has had to pay for."

"So, in other words, I'm helping to save you from manual labor?" Bella asked with a smirk. "No you are actually saving me from getting my car and license taken away from the good doctor," Edward replied with a slight grimace. "My dad said that if I got a third ticket, no driving privileges for a month."

"Yeah, that would suck-being dropped off by mom and dad senior year of high school," Bella said with a slight shudder, causing both of them to laugh.

"Speaking of which, what makes a girl decide to move to Washington from Sunny Arizona of all places to finish out high school?" Edward questioned. "Said girl had a falling out with her mom and her dad offered her a safe haven until college where she can peacefully figure out her next move," Bella responded. "And said girl would rather wait and get to know you better before she discusses what happened," she retorted as Edward was about to ask that very question.

"Fair enough," Edward agreed. "So how about a round of twenty questions to get to know each other?"

"We can't tonight, it looks like you've already pulled into your driveway," Bella answered with a sly smile.

"Wow, I hadn't even noticed to be honest!" Edward said with a smile as he ran his hands through his hair.

"So, now what would you suggest?" Bella asked glancing through her lashes.

"Well, uh, since it's technically Sunday now, can I see you later today?" Edward asked nervously. "We could go to Port Angeles, check out some of the sights if you want?"

"Why Edward Cullen, are you asking me out on a date?" Bella asked coyly. "Not a date exactly, that is unless you want it to be… and you're totally screwing with me right now aren't you?" Edward asked.

Bella giggled and responded, "Yeah, I kind of had to; you were so cute and flustered!"

"So what's your answer?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that; are there any good record stores or bookstores? I left my collection in Phoenix," Bella asked sheepishly.

"Yeah and since some of them are independently owned, you can find some of the really obscure stuff there too," Edward said with a smile.

"That sounds perfect!" Bella agreed with a smile of her own. "What time should I meet you?"

"Noon tomorrow should be okay," Edward suggested. "Unless that's too early for you?"

"Nope, I'm an early riser; Noon is good," Bella approved as she moved to get out of the car.

"Hold on a sec," Edward requested as he jumped out of the car. Bella looked around and noticed that Edward was already on her side, opening the door for her. "Wow, thank you," Bella said surprised.

"You're welcome; my dad is one of those guys that believes we should show chivalry is still alive and well," Edward replied with a nod of his head.

"I think it's really sweet; more guys could keep their girlfriends around if they thought like that," Bella agreed with a sad smile and a turn of her head. "My dad's cruiser is gone."

"Wow, it is. Here, let me walk you to your house; I'm pretty sure the chief would gladly have my head if I didn't make sure his daughter made it home safely," Edward said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure he would," Bella agreed with a laugh. "And thank you that was very thoughtful."

The two walked to Bella's house in an easy silence, and Bella watched as Edward ran across their yards and gave her a small wave good night.

Bella walked into the house and noticed there was a note on the coffee table by the front door.

_Bells,_

_Got a disturbing the peace call near the Crowley place. Probably the son throwing another party while his parents aren't home again. Anyway, I should be home soon. Lock up after you get in and talk to you in the morning. Night, kid._

_Love,_

_Dad._

"Good thing we left when we did," Bella mused to herself as she went up to her room. After changing and before settling into bed, she sent a text message to Alice and Rose telling them about the note Charlie left for her.

_Ur so rite! Good thing we left when things were a lil crazy. Call me in the AM!-A_

**Thnx 4 the heads up, B! I want deets from your ride w/ Edward!-R**

Bella shook her head as she read the text messages from her friends and decided now was the time for sleep, hoping instead of arguing parents, she would dream of a friendly pair of green eyes.

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Fingers crossed, the next chapter will be up sometime this week!

Thanks for your patience and please leave me a review!


	4. I Still Have All These Questions

***pokes head around computer screen* Hope you guys are still there!**

**Hopefully with this chapter being a bit longer, you'll forgive me for my epic failure.**

**_Twilight_ is Stephenie Meyer's- I just wanna see BD2 again to fill my crazy fandom need!**

**On to the story...**

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Ch. 4- Night Turns to Day, and I Still Have These Questions

Edward woke up the next morning, turning a certain part of his and Bella's conversation around in his mind:

"_Speaking of which, what makes a girl decide to move to Washington from Sunny Arizona of all places to finish out high school?" _

"_Said girl had a falling out with her mom and her dad offered her a safe haven until college where she can peacefully figure out her next move, and said girl would rather wait and get to know you better before she discusses what happened."_

"…_Said girl would rather wait and get to know you better before she discusses what happened..."_

_What could have happened to you, Bella?_ Edward thought. From the bit of conversation they got to have, she seemed like a kind, responsible girl. What could cause her parents to have such a bad argument that she moved to Forks of all places?

_Get to know her, Edward. She said that's what it takes,_ he thought to himself as he got out of bed to go shower and join his parents for breakfast.

"So, do you have any plans today sweetheart?" Esme asked sweetly as she placed a plate of waffles in front of Edward.

"I was going to Port Angeles with Bella Swan today; she wanted to grab a few books and CDs since most of hers are still in Arizona," Edward said as he began to eat.

"Chief Swan's daughter? I thought you were dating Jessica Stanley, or is it an off week for you two?" Carlisle asked slightly glancing up from his paper.

"_She_ called it off two weeks ago," Edward answered his father. "And Bella and I are only going as friends."

**-ROL-**

"We're only going as friends," Bella said for possibly the hundredth time that morning.

"Uh-huh, then why does it look like a cyclone hit your closet?" Rosalie countered.

"And do I detect lipstick on that pout of yours, Miss Swan?" Alice added.

"It's lip stain, not that it's any of your business," Bella retorted. "And don't you two have anything better to do than wonder what I'm doing?"

"No," Rose and Alice answered together, laughing.

"You know, I can shut my computer screen and end this conversation right now," Bella jested.

"Okay, okay. We're done teasing," Rose said holding her hands up in surrender. "How does Charlie feel about this quasi-non-date you and Edward are going on?" Alice asked.

"Charlie had to go back into work this morning, so he doesn't know. I'll leave him a note saying I went to Port Angeles with a friend," Bella said holding a light blue long sleeved shirt up for Rose and Alice's approval.

"Smart plan," Alice said as she and Rose gave a mutual thumbs-up for her outfit choice. "So, what are you guys doing anyway?"

"Well, since my book and music collection is still in Arizona, I'm building up a new one here in Forks," Bella said as she fixed her hair for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

"And that's your only reasoning, because Ali and I could have taken you at any time Bella," Rosalie mentioned.

"I most likely would have passed because a 'simple' shopping trip with you two turns into a three hour covert mission," Bella retorted as she fixed the clothing in her closet.

"I resent that!" Alice exclaimed and silently added under her breath "even if it is true."

"Okay, we let it go this time, but please be careful Bella," Rosalie said. "I do want you and Edward to be friends, but I don't want to see you hurt."

"Wait, are you trying to say Edward would hurt Bella?" Alice questioned.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Rose?" Bella said puzzled.

"No, I'm not saying Edward will do it purposely," Rosalie cried. "Just the fact that you both have such crazy histories, I worry about the both of you."

"Well, he's supposed to be dating Jessica, right?" Bella asked as the girls responded with a nod of their heads. "Okay, he's unavailable, and I'm not looking to date right now, so we should be fine."

"Okay, I guess you'll be fine on your own today," Rose said. "We'll let you get going, it's almost twelve," Alice added.

"Alright, I'll talk to the two of you later then, okay?" Bella said as she prepared to shut down the chat.

"Sounds good; ask Edward to drop you off at my place, it will be more believable to Charlie," Alice said.

"No problem; see you girls later on then," Bella replied. "Bye Bella!" The girls called as they went to shut down their chat windows. Bella closed her laptop, grabbed her jacket and purse & left the house to meet up with Edward.

**-ROL-**

"Alright, who are the better modern British imports: Coldplay or Muse?" Edward asked as they made their way to Port Angeles.

"So not fair!" Bella exclaimed "I love that Muse stays pretty consistent with their sound, but I like how Coldplay will take risks with each album; I can't choose."

"Okay, fair enough. I would have a tough time choosing between the two of them too," Edward conceded. "Your turn to ask me."

"Yep. Hmm, question can I stump you with?" Bella thought teasingly. "Got it, which is the better folk band: The Civil Wars or Mumford & Sons?"

"Damn, that's a tough one-I like the bluesy feel that The Civil Wars puts in their music, but it's crazy how a Mumford & Sons song can go from seemingly mellow to a sweeping epic within a minute; I would have to say both," Edward answered .

"Nice answer," Bella said with a smile. "That's the reason I like both bands too."

"Well, your answer about Muse and Coldplay is the same reason I like both bands," Edward replied with a smile on his face as well. "It's nice to meet a girl with similar musical tastes as me."

"So Jessica doesn't have much interest in them, I take it," Bella said with a shake of her head as Edward grimaced. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up, but I can't help wondering what made you take interest in her."

Edward thought about this momentarily: _maybe if I show I'm comfortable enough to mention why Jessica and I hooked up, she'll tell me about why she moved up her._

"Well, when my family first moved up here, Jessica was one of the first people to come and talk to me," Edward began. "I thought she was pretty and her rep wasn't nearly as bad as when we first met. She invited me to one of Tyler's infamous parties, one drink led to another and next thing I know I wake up in the backseat of my car with Jessica."

"No offense, Edward, but I could have lived my whole life without that visual," Bella grimaced.

"Oh no! Nothing happened, Bella!" Edward promised. "I guess she was trying to initiate something and ended up puking on me and then passing out."

"Okay, now the other visual doesn't seem so bad," Bella teased with a laugh as Edward joined her. "It wasn't one of my best nights, I agree," Edward responded. "After that incident though, I guess we bonded a bit; we went on casual dates, and I like her enough, but I didn't feel that spark. I told her I didn't really feel that way about her, she smacked me across the face and broke up with me. It kind of became some weird dance between us after that; she would date one of the other yahoos in school, once they dumped her she'd run back to me and I'd be stupid enough to take her back."

"Was she your first somewhat steady girlfriend?" Bella asked. "Yeah, I guess she was," Edward agreed. "Still doesn't explain my stupidity."

"Actually, I would call it stupidity; just crazy teen hormones," Bella said with a shrug of her shoulder. "You probably did feel something for her and maybe hoped that she still had those feelings for you; she's the stupid one if she doesn't realize what she has," she ended her sentence with a noticeable blush.

_Why the hell did I say that? _ Bella thought to herself.

"Thanks for saying that, Bella," Edward said with a slight smile on his face. _And thanks for possibly hinting you may want something more, even if it was indirect_, he thought to himself.

"You're welcome," Bella replied with her blush intact.

They spent the last few minutes of the drive into Port Angeles in a more comfortable silence. Once they reached one of the bookstores in town, the two spent a couple hours roaming through the titles with Edward questioning Bella about each of her choices, followed by Bella asking Edward about the books he liked reading.

After she found a few of her books and CDs, plus a couple of new titles that Edward suggested, Bella paid for her purchases and the two decided to travel on.

"I'm starting to get kind of hungry," Edward said. "How about you?"

"Yeah, the smell of garlic is driving me nuts," Bella responded. "Is there an Italian place nearby?"

"Bella Italia is right up the block if you don't mind walking," Edward suggested. "Sounds great, let's go," Bella answered.

As they walked to the restaurant, they asked each other little details about their respective childhoods- Edward was born in London, but his father got a better job offer in Esme's hometown of Chicago so they moved there when he was two; Bella was a Washington native, but a messy divorce between her parents at age ten moved her to Arizona with her mother and summers and some holidays with her father.

When the two walked into the restaurant, the hostess couldn't help but sneer at Bella and Edward together and led them to their seats.

"Okay, why did the hostess give me the stink-eye as we came in?" Bella questioned Edward after she left.

"That was Lauren, Jess' best friend," Edward answered with an eye roll. "She'll probably be texting Jessica right about now to let her know 'what a total rat' I am. Of course, Jess will blow things out of proportion even though she broke things off with me again two weeks ago."

"So what are you going to do?" Bella asked curiously. "Well, you've made me realize I shouldn't be wasting my time with someone who constantly needs to stir up drama, so if she calls me, I'm ending things for good this time," Edward said with a proud smile.

"Hey Edward, who's your new friend?" their waitress inquired. "Oh, hi Katie. This is Bella Swan; Bella, this is Kate Jameson. She and her sisters moved here from Denali around the same time I did," Edward disclosed.

"Chief Swan's daughter?" Kate asked as Bella responded with a nod of her head. "Well it's nice to finally put a face to the name," Kate replied with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kate," Bella replied with a smile. "So can I start you guys off with anything to drink?" Kate asked.

After they decided what to drink and their meals, Bella and Edward continued discussing their childhoods. His father worked in the hospital until he saved enough money to open his own practice, while his mother ran her own design business from home; Bella's father became chief shortly before Bella's mom asked for divorce and her mom was an artist who was quickly making a name for herself in the Seattle area before she left for Arizona. Some of Renee's contacts reached out to associates in Arizona, and she continued to thrive while Bella suffered in silence.

Once they finished dinner and paid, Edward and Bella walked out along with Kate.

"Do you need us to walk you to your car, Kate?" Edward asked with concern.

"No, I'm okay; actually, Garrett is waiting right across the street," Kate said with a smile. "I'll see you both Tuesday; it was nice to finally meet you, Bella!"

"You too, Kate. See you Tuesday," Bella responded with a wave.

Bella and Edward got into the car and began their trek back into Forks when she got a call from her father.

_Bad boys, bad boys whacha gonna do? _ Her phone warbled.

"Nice ringtone," Edward snickered. "Shut up," Bella replied. "Hey dad. Yeah I had a good day with the girls; they helped me find a few of my old books and CDs in Port Angeles… Uh, we should be back probably within the next half hour, maybe? Yes, I'll make sure Alice drives carefully… Okay, love you and see you soon. Bye."

"So Alice's house is our destination?" Edward asked. "Yep, do you know where she lives?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, we had a big project to work on for Chemistry last year," Edward responded. He pulled up to the house about fifteen minutes later.

"I had a really great time today, Edward," Bella said softly. "I did too; I forgot how fun it can actually be to hang out with someone and they don't criticize your choices every thirty seconds," Edward said in an exhaled breath.

Bella surprised the both of them as she leaned over and kissed Edward on the cheek. "I'll see you Tuesday, if I don't see you tomorrow," Bella said blushing again.

_That damn blush is going to be the death of me_, Edward thought. "Yeah, I'll see you soon," as he reached behind him to grab her bags from the back seat to hand to her. As he watched her enter Alice's house and waved back to the girls, he noticed his phone ringing.

"What is it, Jess?" Edward answered in an annoyed tone.

"Don't you dare answer the phone like that, Edward Cullen!" Jessica griped. "I have to hear from Lauren that you're cheating on me with Chief Swan's skank of a daughter," she whined.

"First of all, don't call her a skank because you don't even know her!" Edward yelled. "Second, in order for me to be cheating on you, we'd still have to be dating; however, you broke up with me two weeks ago because Newton decided he wanted to try his luck with you again. And last, but absolutely not least, we're over for good, Jessica!" he declared.

"Excuse me?" Jessica asked as if she couldn't understand what Edward just said to her.

"You heard me, Jess; we're done. Don't call me anymore, don't text me, don't even bother talking to me at school," Edward said.

"You have no idea what you're missing out on," Jessica seethed.

"Yes I do; an awkward trip to see my father at the hospital," Edward responded as he hung up his phone and drove home with a clear head.

_Now this is a good start to Senior Year_, he though with a smile. Until he remembered a certain raven-haired girl he'd prefer to walk the hallways of Forks High with. _Well Almost_…

* * *

**Again, hopefully a longer chapter will make up for how bad I failed! I promise I'll really try to have a new chapter up before Christmas!**

**P.S- I feel some serious Momma Bear pride for Edward standing up to Jessica and breaking up with her. I'll explain why she's so evil next chapter...  
**

**Thanks again if you're still reading and please leave me a review!  
**


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